Propulsion of boats



June 4, 1935. i w. RISEAM I PROPULSION OF BOATS Filed Nov. 19, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m z mm? Wzllz'am lam Br ArroAm-r 2 0 a. 2 s (K .1 Wm. ww Q. mm mfimmmm mfiwwWNW a. 02x2 HMH MMQA :L 1x: WM m min} ma mam Q r h EN -limw Q .M a N Q 0 3 2 w h w w mm .a V w 0 NW 7 M 1\\\ X1 x k a Q 2 r v 3 Q S a um 3 3 2 mm mm 3 June 4, 1935.

W. RISEAM PROPULSION 0F BOATS Filed Nov. 19, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 4, 1935 PATENT OFF IC'ET" PROPULSION F BOATS William Riseam, Hull, England, assignor of onehalf to John Herbert Haiste, Hull, England Application November 19, 1934, Serial No. 753,754 In Great Britain February 9, 1934 3 Claims.

This invention relates to the propulsion of .boatsand it has for its primary object to supply an improved means of propulsion in substitution for one or more sculls or cars, another object being to substitute for one or more sculls or oars improved boat propelling means adapted either for manual or mechanical operation, and a further object being to provide manual or mechanical boat propelling means occupying a 10 minimum of space and hence especially suitable for use in conjunction with collapsible boats in which said propelling means may be accommodated when the boat is collapsed or folded.

Manually-operated and engine-operated oscillating propellers have already been proposed for the propulsion of boats, and it has also been proposed to employ an oscillating propeller whereof the blade or blades is or are mounted pivotally at right angles to a propeller shaft to which angular movement about its own longitudinal axis in opposite directions alternately is imparted by actuating means therefor, the blade or blades being caused by the pressure of Watch to swing about its axis or their axes at each 25 change in direction of the angular movement of the propeller shaft.v

According to this invention a rotary propeller has blades mounted pivotally at right angles in relation to a propeller shaft to which one or! 30 more revolutions in opposite directions alternately is or are imparted by actuating mechanism and the blades swing automatically under water pressure about their axes at each change of the direction of rotation of the pro- 35 peller shaft whereby the thrust on the propeller blades is constantly effective.

-' The propeller shaft may be' actuated either manually or mechanically through the medium of an internally threaded block or sleeve working as a nut on a threaded shaft aligned with and connected to said propeller shaft, which threaded sleeve is adapted to be reciprocated along said threaded shaft by a manually operated angularly movable lever connected by a link to said sleeve; the sleeve being prevented from rotating by engagement with a fixed rod on which the sleeve is slidable.

The propeller comprises a pair of diametrically opposite blades each mounted pivotally on a stem fixed to a boss and extending at right angles to a propeller shaft wherein the boss is fixed, means being provided to limit adjustably, the extent of pivotal movement of said blades, and, to the propeller shaft angular movement of not less than 360, is imparted in opposite medium of propeller make one or more complete revolutions (according to the pitch or the length of the threaded rod) in one direction and then the opposite and at each reversal of direction' the pressure of the water on the faces of the blades automatically turns each blade on its pivot, thus maintaining the thrust on the propeller blades continuously in a forward direction.

One constructional embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a longitudinal section of a two-bladed propeller and the actuating means therefor, and Figure 2 is a section on the line 2, 2 in Figure l. Figure 3 is a plan view of a portion of the actuating'means.

Figure 4 is a detail plan view of an abutment ring for controlling a' propeller blade, and Figure 5 is a detail plan view of part of the mea ns for reversing the blades of the propeller illustrated in Figure 1. g V v Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of a gear box and propeller-actuating means.

The propeller shaft 1 passes through the sternpost 8 of a boat into a casing 9 on to the shouldered and reduced outboard end 9A of which a nut I0 is screwed to hold that end of the casing firmly against the sternpost 8, and beyond said nut ID a packing gland H is also screwed on tothe outboard extremity 9A of the casing 9. I

Within the casing 9 the propeller shaft 1 is supported in ball bearings l2, l2, intermediately of which the shaft is formed with a quick-pitched screw thread 13 which is embraced by a sleeve I 4 adapted to work thereon as a nut by means of oppositely located thrust rollers or ball-races l5, l5, carried by stubs l6, I 6, accommodated in recesses interiorly of the sleeve M. The sleeve l4 may, if desired, be in the form of a solid bronze nut without said thrust rollers.

The casing 9 is shaped lengthwise with two diametrically opposite wings 9B, 9B, serving as guides or grooves'for ball races l1, l1, carried by horizontally disposed trunnions l8, l8, projecting laterally from the sleeve l4, and to the sleeve M are connected a pair of rods l9, [9, which pass slidably through apertures in the end or cover plate 90 of the casing 9, the outer ends of said rods l9, l9, being united by a gudgeon pin to which is articulated a yoke 2| connecting the rods !3, 9, pivotally to a hand lever 22, the foot of which is pivoted at 22A to a bracket 22B fixed within the boat. MA, !4A, are cushioning springs located wtihin the easing 9 and serving as resilient abutments for the sleeve I4 at each end of the casing which preferably contains a supply of oil.

The propeller shaft is ,bored longitudinally and the propeller boss 23 is secured to the tapered outboard extremity thereof by means of an annular tapered and flanged plate 24 bolted at 25, 25, to the boss 23 and a nut 26 screwed on to the end of shaft 1, the boss 23 being recessed at 2'! to accommodate said nut 26, and a screwed plug or cap 28 being fitted on to the outboard end of the boss 23. 29 is a post supporting the inboard end of the casing 9, and'Sfl is a forked bracket integral with the cover plate 3!, 3|, are the two propeller blades in the root of each of which is formed an axialpassage whereby each blade is mounted loosely on a stem or pintle 32 (wherein it is retained by a washer and split pin or otherwise suitably) these pintles 32 being integral with or fixed to an arbor 33 disposed vertically in bearings formed diametrically of the boss 23 and the intermediate portion of the arbor being formed as a pinion 34.

The root of each blade 3| is circular and fits rotatably into a ring 35 fast on each pintle 32, and the trailing edge of each blade 3! terminates at its root in a lug or projection 36 which is accommodated in a segmental gap or recess 3! formed in each ring 35.

The. propeller boss 23 is bored longitudinally at 38 to accommodate a forked rack 39 to the forward end of which is secured a rod 4ll'passing slidably through the longitudinal bore of the propeller shaft 1 and terminating at its forward extremity in a thrust collar 4! in which the rod 40 is free to rotate and which is furnished with trunnions 42, 42, engaged by a forked lever 43 pivoted at 44 to the aforesaid bracket 30 and provided with a handle 45.

In the form of the invention shown the length of the screw thread l3 iscalculated so that for one passage of the sleeve l4 therealong angular movement to the extent of five complete revolutions is imparted to the propeller shaft 1, consequently, by oscillating the hand lever '22 continuously the resultant reciprocation of the sleeve !4 causes the propeller blades 3!, 3!, to be rotated for five revolutions, first in one direction and then in the opposite, the blades swinging angularly about the stems or pintles 32, 32, at each change in rotational direction, and abutting against the oneorthe other side of the. segmental gap or recess 3'! in each ring 35, whereby the thrust of the blades 3!, 3!, is effective constantly in a forward direction irrespective of the direction of rotation of the shaft 1' and is also continuously effective through both the forward and the aft displacement of the sleeve l4 along the screw thread I3.

In Figure 1 the propeller is shownwith the blades 3!, 3!, in position for propelling a boat forwardly, but should it be desired to go astern, the rod 40 is moved longitudinally through the medium of handle 45, lever 43 and thrust collar 4!, causing the rack 39 to rotate the pinion 34, arbor 33 and rings 35, 35, fast thereon, whereby the trailing edges of each blade 3! are moved forward and the leading edges aft, thus reversing the propeller which then functions to propel the boat astern when the hand lever 22 is oscillated with the blades set in such position.

The embodiment of the invention just described is applicable to relatively small and light boats, and should the invention be required for use in connection with boats of a heavier type, or wherein more manual power is available, such as in ships lifeboats, fishing boats or cobles, the operating mechanism may be associated with a gear box, as illustrated by way of example in Figure 6.

"The casing 46 of the gear box is formed integrally with a forwardly extending tubular housing 4! in which is mounted in ball bearings 48, 48, a screw-threaded shaft 49 whereof the thread is of the same pitch and length as the thread !3 shown in Figure 1, and said shaft 49 is prolongedinto the gear box wherein it is supported by a ball bearing 50 accommodated in an appropriate recess in the end or cover plate 5! of the gear box.

Mounted freely on the shaft 49 is a pinion 52 having on its outer face a number of dogs 53 forming part of a clutch adapted to be engaged by anotherseries of dogs 54 integral-with a slidable pinion 55 which is splined on the shaft 49 and having a neck engaged by a clutch fork 56 on the end of a clutch lever 5l'pivoted at 58 in the gear box.

The pinion 52 meshes with a pinion 59 keyed on a counter-shaft 60 supported by ball bearings 5!, 62, accommodated in recesses in the front wall of the gear box 46 and its cover plate 5!, respectively, and a pinion 63 engageable with the slidable pinion 55 is also keyed on said counter-shaft 60 whereof the after end 60A projects through the cover plate 5! and is adapted to be coupled appropriately to the propeller shaft, or to have the propeller boss 23-coupled directly to it in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 1;' the counter-shaft 60 being bored axially to accommodate the reversing rod 40 whereof the forward end terminates rotatably in a thrust collar 64 engaged by a fork 65 borne by a reversing lever .66 pivoted at 6! to the housing 41. v

The screw-threaded shaft 49 is engaged by a sleeve similar to the sleeve l4and the latter is adapted to be displaced or reciprocated along the shaft 49 by means similar or analogous to those already described with reference to Figure 1. V

With the pinions 55 and 63 in mesh, as shown in Figure 6, the actuating mechanism revolves the propeller in low gear, and by sliding the dogs 54 into engagement with the dogs 53, by moving thechange-speed lever 5'! aft, or to the left in Figure 6, the drive is transferred to the pinions 52 and. 59- whereof the gearratio is higher than pinions 55 and 63.

While the invention has been designed primarily to provide, an improved manually-operated boat-propulsion mechanism, in certain cases a mechanical drive for reciprocating the sleeve !4 may be-employed, such as a pivoted connecting rod coupling the rods !9 with a crank-pin on the fly wheel of a small internal combustion engine.

What I claim is:

1. Means for the propulsion of a boat, comprising a propeller shaft, a propeller including blades mounted pivotally in relation to said propeller shaft, each of said blades having a leading edge and also a trailing edge, means to rotate said propeller shaft through an angle of at least 360 in opposite directions alternately, and mechanism for reversing the positions of said leading edges and said trailing edges of said blades for the purpose of propelling said boat astern, the thrust on said blades being constantly effective during both directions of angular movement of said propeller shaft and both when said boat is being propelled ahead and astern.

2. Means for the propulsion of a boat, comprising a propeller shaft, a propeller including blades mounted on axes at right angles in relation to said propeller shaft, said blades having limited pivotal movement about said axes and each blade having a leading edge and a trailing edge, means to rotate said propeller shaft a plurality of revolutions in one direction and a plurality of revolutions in the opposite direction alternately, and mechanism for reversing the positions of said leading edges and said trailing edges of said blades for the purpose of propelling said boat astern, the thrust on said blades being constantly effective during both directions of angular movement of said propeller shaft and also both when said boat is being propelled ahead and astern.

3. Means for the propulsion of a boat, comprising a propeller shaft, a propeller including blades mounted on axes at right angles in relation to said propeller shaft, said blades having limited pivotal movement about said axes and each blade having a leading edge and a trailing edge, means such as a sleeve adapted to be reciprocated as a. nut upon a screw-threaded portion of said propeller shaft to rotate said propeller shaft a plurality of revolutions in one direction and a plurality of revolutions in the opposite direction alternately, and means such as rack-and pinion mechanism for reversing the positions of said leading edges and said trailing edges of said blades for the purpose of propelling said boat astern, the thrust on said blades being constantly effective during both directions of angular movement of said propeller shaft and also both when 20 said boat is being propelled ahead and astern.

WILLIAM RISEAM. 

